Soul Machine

'Soul Machine' is 12-Bit Crunch's brand new Kontakt Instrument. Like 'Jazz Machine', it's part sample-player and part chord-generator with MIDI export functionality:

Once again, seven chord types, played on four vintage instruments that this time define the sound of golden-era Soul music:

A ChallenUpright Piano

A Fender TelecasterElectric Guitar

AWurlitzer 720a Electric Piano

A Hammond C3 Organ

Soul and Gospel chords are essentially derived from basic diatonic harmony (from the notes of the major/minor scale), with variation often coming from 'inverting' chords (playing them with notes arranged in different orders) and from basic suspensions (replacing the root note with something else). Of course, the chord-types we've used in 'Soul Machine' reflect this:

Major (played in root position)

Major (1st inversion)

Major (2nd inversion)

Minor 7th

Dominant 7th

Suspended (Root/Bass note up one tone)

Half-diminished

Again you have four different articulations switchable through soft/ hard velocity and up/ down mod-wheel:

Straight

Chop (attack trimmed off)

Rake (played gradually from bottom-to-top)

A complimentary melody top- Note

As per usual, you can choose between a crackly Vinyl sound (with over 300 individual crackle samples tailor-made for each chord, just like sampling for real), a CD sound or a crappy-sounding MP3 sound.

You can have total control of the samples by engaging the Choke feature, which truncates the end of all Soul Machine's output (as in, when you release a key, the chord or note stops).

There's also the cool Warble effect, which adds wow and flutter, which you can dial in to taste (as well as the crackle volume when 'vinyl' is selected as the source) on the Settings page.

In case it wasn't already clear, our instruments play back chords recorded on real instruments. You needn't be restricted to those sounds though, as you can drag the chords direct into your DAW for re-arranging and playing back on whatever sound you like.

In summary- if you're new to music, you'll have those gospel chops in no time. If you're a fully fledged keyboard player, we guarantee you'll come up with some new progressions, as the 12-Bit Crunch 'one-chord-type-per-octave’ concept makes you use your ears as opposed to your fingers.

We hope you'll enjoy this one just as much as Jazz Machine and there are already more instruments in the pipeline with the same unique concept.